Mining and loading machine



Sept. 1e. 1924. 1,508,633

W. J. WILSON MINING AND LOADING MACHINE Filed Oct; 9, 1917 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q). V N

f N l E? j @I w f l@ b3 E7 EMM J @MJ-@Z7 MINING AND LOADING MACHINE Filed oct. 9, 1917 s' sheets-sheet 5 Ziyi@ 'PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER J'. WILSON, 0F BEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA. v

unime ANnLoAnme. MACHINE.

'Application med october, 191?. serial No. 195,560.

To all twhom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WALTER J. WILSON, a I

citizen of the United States, residing at Sewickley in the county of Alleghen and State of lennsylvania, have invente certain new and useful Improvements in Mining and Loading Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadl to amining machine, particularly inten ed for mining coal or the, like, in which the cutting element or elements serve also to elevate and conve the cuttings or excavated material out o and away from the kerf. The present invention is adapted to be embodied in a variety of particular'for'ms of machines, for

'which I intend to file applications for Letters Patent, butin the present instance, the invention is. diagrammatically illustrated, and will be described as embodied in an exceedingly sim le, form of machine.

The objects o this invention are to provide an improved minin and loading machine whicln will be a apted to excavate material and load it into cars or the like; to provide a machine of this character in which the cutting elements also serve to convey the material rearwardly of the cut and 'in such position that it may be readily disposed of; toprovide a mining machme in which the cutter chains are arranged invertical planes, orat such angles as may be desired for cutting and carrying the excavated material away at the upper portions of the cutter bars; to provide a mining machine in which the cutter chains are arranged in other than horizontal planes and the chains driven so as to draw the material out along the top portions of the cutter bars, or chain supporting elements; to provide a mining cutter chains are drlvenat a comparatively high speed and arranged to elevate and carry the material to a convenient point for disposal; and, in general, to provide such an improved form of machine as will be shown and described more lfully hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustratface andv into the ears.

machine in which the i Fig. 4 is a plan View of a modified form of cutting and conveying element,

Fig. 5 is a side view of the same, and,

, Figs.' 6to 10 are details of a coal guide or chute which ma be used in connection with some forms o my machines.

In vthe ordinary types of wall and breast machines, the cutter bars are arranged So that the chains move in horizontal planes to'cut the kerfs under the coal. In these machines, the operator must Shovel the slack or cuttings away from the n some instances the cutter bars have also been arran ed in vertical planes to cut vertical kerfs, ut in such cases the chains are driven so that they move in over the top of the cutter bar and out underneath the same, thereby dragging the slack' or cuttings out at the bottom of the .kerf where it must also be shoveled away. In accordance with my invention the cutter chain is driven in the opposite direction from that just described, so that it will pass in along the bottomof the cutter bar or supporting means, and will then pass up and out along the top of the same so as to elevate and convey the cuttings out at the top of the kerf, andv from thence to any convenient point for disposal. The cutter chain is preferably driven at a relatively hivh speed so that'the slack or cuttings will be properly ejected and also for the purpose of increasin the cutting efficiency. As shown in the rawin s, 6 indicates a base or frame of any sultable form of construction which is adapted to be held in fixed position, as by means of jacks 7 or in any other wellknown manner. An auxiliary frame or carriage 8 is slidably mounted in the base 6 and carries the cutting mechanism. Any suitable means for driving the carriage 8 for feeding the cutting mechanism may be used. In the present instance I have shown racks 9 on the sides of thebase 6, which are engaged by pinions 10 on a shaft 11 mounted on the carriage 8, this shaft being drivenl by means of a chain 12 from the motor 13 on said carriage. Any suitable clutches or reversing mechanism such as commonly used on minin machines may be used in connection with t is feeding device but as such mechanism forms no part of the invention, it is notillustrated.

The carriage 8 is provided with forwardly extending side pieces 14, to which n ofthe coal, with the carria the cutter arm or' bar 15 is rigidly secured.- A shaftl has its bearings in t e side pieces 14 and is driven by means of a cham, or other suitable device 17, from the motor 13. The shaft 16 is provided with a sprocket 18 for driving the cutter chain' 19, this chain being of any suitable variety and vbearing cutter bits'20. The forward end of the cutter bar or arm l5 is provided with an adjustable guide wheel 21 for the chain 19. The bar 15 is preferably provided with guide channels 22 for guiding the cutter chain between the supporting wheels.

A shaft 23 is mounted in the arms 14 `and is provided with a sprocket 24 which engages with the chain 17 and is driven thereby. The shaft 23 has a roller 25 which drives a conveyer belt 26 which is carried over guide rollers and preferably arranged to deposit the coal in the mine foar 27.

In operating this type of machine, the base will be arranged adjacent to the face in retracted position, ready for the initia cut. The cutter bar is preferably fed in at a compara- Y tivel slow speed, while the chain is pref- 31, which drives the shaft 32,

i Shown Figls erab y driven at a much faster speed than is the common practice at the present time. This will increase the cutting etiiciency as well asinsure the proper conveying and discharging of the coal or material excavated; As the carriage is fed inwardly, or toward the face of the coal, a kerf or openingwill be excavated and the material will be car-A ried out and deposited on the conveyer, which then carries it to the car,-so that all of the cuttings will be deposited directly in the car without manual labor. In Vthis connection it will be noted that the conveyer may-bemade of suliicient length so that it will serve as a picking table, and rock or other objectionable matter may be separated from the coal. When the initial out has been made, the cutter bar is drawn out andV the machine moved to one side and the next cut made, the operation being similar to that of a breastA machine. v

to admit the body or frame ofthe machine,

the center chain is made shorter than thev others, so as` to clear the drivinsprocket drives the cutter chains bymeans of sprockets in the usual manner.. A shaft 33 is 2 mounted in the bars 28 in advance of the shaft 32, and is provided with a series of s rockets which engage with the outer c ains, so that the shaft will be driven thereby. This shaft also carries a sprocket 35 at the center for driving the center chain 36 which, in this instance, is shorter than the side chains. A guide chute or plate 37 is arranged at the rear of the chain 36 so as to guide the slack or cuttings over the sprocket wheel 31 and into position to be taken away by theconveyer. In this instance the frame or bodyo the machine 38, with the parts carried thereby, are made sufficiently small in proportion to the cutting and conveying member that it may pass into the ker or opening, and in this manner `the machine may be fed continuously into the coal. With this arrangement the entire frame of the machine is moved forwardly by an suitable means, as above described. In this connection it will be observed that the cutting and conveying ar` .kerf will serve to guide the coal from'the cutting and conveying apparatus onto the conveyor which carries the coal back to the car. In other instances it may be desirable to provide a. chute or guide which will coactpwith the cuttin 'mechanism to carry the coal back and disc arge it on the conveyor` or at such point as may be desired. I have shown such a chute or guide in Figs. 6 to 10 which is illustrated as a plied to the form of machines shown in i'gs. 1 and 2. This comprises a fixed portion 39 which is attached to the side pieces 14 andV chain guide 22. This member may be made in any desired ormbut as shown, consists of a pipe or tube having a slot in the lower portion` thereof to permit the passage of the chain, and the discharge of the coal onto the conveyor. A series of movable, telescoping guide members 40, 41, and 42 are arranged to coact with the iixed member 39 and the guide 22 in the manner illustrated. These movable sections are preferably prgvided at their outer ends with bands or stop pieces 43. Bars or strips 44 are secured to the 'sides of the guide 22 and support movable sections. The guides or strips 44 are notched or stepped for the different sections, such notches or steps serving to limit the outer movement of the res ive secdesired number of sections ma pending 'upon the length ot t e cutter bar and the length of the telescoping portion of haft the fixed section. Y s

When this guide or chute is employed, the operator pulls the telescoping sections out luntil they are extended their full length. As soon as the-cutter bar enters the coal, the cuttings or excavated be the which will of course limit the further forward movement of the cutter bar. B- means of this guide or chute, the coal wil all be carried back to the point of'delivery without fallin o' at the sides of the cutter bar. Such gulde or chute may of course be modiiied for different forms or arrangements of this invention.

From the above description, it will. be seen that this invention contemplates broadly the arrangement 'for cutting and conveying the' coal in the manner indicated, and I do not wish to limit the same to an specific details, except as set forth in the fo lowing claims, in which I claim:

1. A mining machine comprising a relatively iixed base, a carriage movable longitudinally of said basea support mounted on said carriage, an endless flexible carrier mounted on said support, cutter bits mounted in said carrier, means for driving said carrier so that it moves forward and then up and back over the support to excavate the material and carry it backwardly, and a conveyer adaptedto receive the excavated ma-` terial and convey it away from the carrier.

2. Cutting mechanism for a coal mining machine comprising a support, and a plural, ity of cutting chains each chain being provid'- ed with bits and mounted on Asaid support in parallel planes and adjacent to each other, the

arrangement being such that the cutter chains will cut'an opening suiiciently large to admit the support and the excavated material will be conveyed along said support.

3. Cuttin and conveying mechanism for a' mining mac ine com' risinga support having longitudinal gui eways, a p urality of cutter chains mounted on said support in sub-- stantially parallel relation and adjacent-to each other, and adapted to engage with said guideways, the arrangement being such that, when the'mechanism is fed into the coal, all of the coal will be excavated in a space as wide as the combined cutter chains, and will be carried up and back along said guideways.

4. In a mining machine, the combination of a cutter frame, a. plurality of endless chains for said cutter frame, provided with cutting devices for cutting the coal, said chains being arranged in parallel relationf and sufficiently close to each other to excavate all of the material within the path of the cutter frame, means for driving said chains, and said frame being movable to cause the cutting devices to en age with the coal and carry the coal u an back along the upper portion of said rame.

' 5. Cutting mechanism for a coal mining machine, comprising a support and a plurality of cutter chains mounted'on said support suiiiciently close to each other to cut all of the material within the path of the support and operable in vertical planes and adapted to carry the excavated material back along said support to a discharge point.

6. In a mining machine, the combination of a cutter bar and cutter chain adapted to cut all of the material within the path of the bar, and a guide whereby the excavated material may be supported as it isv conveyed along the upper portion of saidbar.

In a mining and loading machine, the

so i

combination of a cutter bar, a cutter chain.:-

kerf for admitting said bar, and a chute arran ed along the upper portion of the bar where y the chain may carry the coal through said chute.

8. In a mining and loading machine, the combination of a supporting member, a cutting and conveying chain carried by said member and a movable chute arranged along the top of said supporting member.

9. In a mining 4and loading machine, the combination of a cutter arm, a chain carried by said arm, and a telescopin coal guide mounted along the upper part o said arm.

10. In a mining and loading machine, the combination of a cutter arm and chain carried thereby, a" telescopin coal chute arranged along the top of sai arm, andguideways-for said chute.

WALTER J. WILSON.

carried by said bar and adapted to .cutA a- 

